Wal-Mart vote got bye from Daley

Mayor let council decide on fate of South Side store

Mayor Richard Daley acknowledged Wednesday that he could have cast the deciding vote on a proposed South Side Wal-Mart store last week but said he decided to leave the decision up to the City Council.

Twenty-five aldermen voted at a council meeting in favor of a zoning change to permit construction of the controversial store, one vote short of a majority, and Daley said he was aware of provisions in state law allowing him to cast a ballot.

But the question of approving the Wal-Mart "is a legislative function," he said. "You heard from various aldermen. They spoke eloquently, passionately, for and against. And now it is up to them to deal with the specifics."

The matter was sent back to the council's Zoning Committee for further consideration as Ald. Howard Brookins Jr. (21st), who is seeking the Wal-Mart for his ward, lobbies colleagues for enough support to put it over the top. Labor leaders, meanwhile, are expected to continue pressuring aldermen to reject the zoning change because of what they contend is Wal-Mart's poor treatment of its workers.

Daley said he is "no proponent of big box stores," and reiterated that the retailing giant must answer critics' questions. But he said the jobs and shopping that Wal-Mart brings are "important to the community."

Though the South Side store did not win approval last week, the council voted 32-15 to clear the way for a Wal-Mart in an impoverished area on the West Side, heeding pleas from the local alderman, Emma Mitts (37th).

On another economic development issue, meanwhile, Daley said he would use a meeting scheduled for Thursday to urge union leaders and representatives of companies that stage trade shows and conventions at McCormick Place to cut costs.

Daley wants labor leaders to agree to work rule changes and the companies to pass the savings on to exhibitors.

Under current rules, exhibitors are permitted to hand-carry small items for setting up but are prohibited from using carts, for example, and poster board assembly requires a union decorator and a union carpenter.

Chicago is feeling the heat from other cities, the mayor said. "We are competing against Atlanta. We are competing against Orlando, Las Vegas. If we don't cut our costs, people are going to say, `We aren't going to be here. We are going someplace else.' ... Then you have people losing jobs."

Daley, who helped pressure the unions for money-saving work rule changes in 1998, said he still gets complaints. "I just got a letter from another group," he said. "They said, `Our costs were overwhelming. We couldn't believe it, and the attitude was not good' in regard to jurisdictional fights--`This is mine, this is yours'--in front of the customer."

Daley did not identify the group.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich also was scheduled to attend Thursday's meeting, to be held at McCormick Place.

"I think it is pretty hard for the leaders of the state and city to ask for any concessions when the governor is cutting the convention and tourism budget," said Dennis Gannon, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, who planned to attend the meeting. "How can we have a $900 million [McCormick Place addition] go up, and we are going to cut the budget in half of the workforce that is supposed to go out there and lure conventions to Chicago?"

Daley spoke at a West Side news conference where he also urged youngsters to participate in recreational and educational programs this summer and said adults must take responsibility for helping to keep children safe.

"I cannot emphasize strongly enough that it is not up to the police to keep kids out of trouble this summer," he said. "It is up to all of us."

But Daley added that police will enforce the city's curfew ordinance, which prohibits children under 17 from being on the street after 10:30 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday and after 11:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.